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Critical Language Arts Strategies

The 5 strategies I cannot teach Language Arts without are:

guided reading

direct instruction mini-lessons

peer review of writing

independent reading

free writing

Evaluating the Credibility of Informative Websites

Evaluating the Credibility of Informative Websites

Summary of Curricular Context: In this lesson students will learn several criteria used to evaluate the credibility of information-based website and if they are acceptable to use in academic research. Students will learn what these criteria are, where to find information relating to them on websites, and to actively evaluate sites using them.

To participate in this lesson students must have a basic understanding of web navigation (e.g. opening a web browser, navigating to a website when given a URL, confidently exploring unknown websites) and be proficient in word processing (e.g. opening a document, inputting text, and saving a document). All students in this class have recently completed a lesson and accompanying assessment on using Google to search for informative websites.


Objectives & Standards for Unit: Students will be able to research a controversial topic, formulate an opinion-based thesis, and write a five paragraph essay that uses research points to support the thesis.

W.8.1. Text Types and Purposes: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
W.8.2. Text Types and Purposes: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
W.8.4. Production and Distribution of Writing: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.8.5. Production and Distribution of Writing: With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
W.8.6. Production and Distribution of Writing: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
W.8.7. Research to Build and Present Knowledge: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
W.8.8. Research to Build and Present Knowledge: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.


Objectives & Standards for Lesson: Students will understand the criteria and skills used to determine the credibility of information on a website and demonstrate an ability to apply those criteria and skills to their own research

W.8.8. Research to Build and Present Knowledge: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

Lesson Goal: Students will demonstrate an understanding of how to determine the credibility of information published online by determining the publishing organization, the sources of the information presented, the author, and overall objectivity of relevant websites found in a previous activity. They will record this information and then determine if they believe the website is suitable to use in their research.


Stage 1

Enduring Understandings
Unit
1. Understand how to find and collect valid research and use it in a piece of writing
2. Understand that there are often multiple perspectives and solutions for difficult issues and problems

Lesson
3. Understand that not all information published to the internet can be trusted
4. Understand that there is a wealth of valuable, credible information easily available via websites


Essential Questions
1. What does it take to formulate an opinion of your own and convince someone to agree with you?
2. How do we (as readers and authors) sort through and comprehend all the information available to use today?


Knowledge & Skills
Knowledge
• The four criteria for a credible website
• An established publishing organization
• The sources of the information on the website is easy to find and clear
• Clearly defined and identified author(s)
• The website is NOT trying to convince the reader of a specific point (objective)
• What areas of a website to look for the information to evaluate a website

Skills
• Find information to determine if an information website is credible
• Determine and research a publishing organization
• Find the sources of the information on the website
• Identify author(s)
• Determine if the website is objective
• Based on the above criteria, make a judgment about the credibility of a website
• Based on the above criteria, decide to whether or not to use the website in research

Dodge Academy Neighborhood Map

Check out my MAP of the community, religious, and educational institutions and businesses in the neighborhood surrounding Dodge Renaissance Academy, an AUSL teacher training academy in East Garfield Park